You can download climate science whistleblower Rick Piltz's lengthy complaint here (PDF). I have finally read it in its entirety, and so should you. The issues raised therein go far beyond the mere fact that a political appointee has been editing the language of scientific reports; rather, it appears that the whole U.S. government climate change science program has been corrupted through systematic political interference.

President's George Bush's decision not to sign the United States up to the Kyoto global warming treaty was partly a result of pressure from ExxonMobil, the world's most powerful oil company, and other industries, according to US State Department papers seen by the Guardian. The documents, which emerged as Tony Blair visited the White House for discussions on climate change before next month's G8 meeting, reinforce widely-held suspicions of how close the company is to the administration and its role in helping to formulate US policy.

Washington - A former White House official and one-time oil industry lobbyist whose editing of government reports on climate change prompted criticism from environmentalists will join Exxon Mobil Corp., the oil company said Tuesday.

The Brad Show is pleased to welcome Joan Krawitz and Warren Stewart from VoteTrustUSA, where

Our purpose is to support grass roots groups in their efforts to change laws and regulations governing voting systems and election administration, to facilitate communication among them, and to provide a national voice and lobbying presence.

I wish these guys the best of luck as far as getting true voter reform through.

On Huffingtonpost, Jim Lampley, HBO boxing commentator wrote a couple of kick ass blogs on how Bush stole the election in 2004. He went back and forth with a couple of right wingers. It was classic stuff.

But honestly, ensuring voting systems are implemented with a paper trail should be a non partisan issue like Brad said.

Diebold makes ATM machines, there's no way they can say it's too difficult to produce a paper trail for votes. :plain:

In the past two and a half weeks we have sent home 47 of America's sons and daughters draped in the American flag. I can not even begin to imagine what it must be like to open your door and find 3 soldiers, dressed in their military bests, on your doorstep. It's amazing how fast things change, one moment you're praying for the safe keepings of your loved one, the next moment your worst fears have now become reality. As a soldier, I can not accurately portray a family member of someone deployed. Anxiety, fear and hope must rule the lives of the people we leave behind. So often people do not realize what burdens our families go through. It is the family who gives the ultimate price when their soldier dies.

Peg you might be right about that. Howard Dean is pushing for a national election system like Oregon's. Their state law is that you can't implement a system that doesn't have an ability to be recounted by hand.

Paper ballots exceed the exit polls margin-of-error (MOE) and are the ONLY voting method to EVER do so. Canada uses them. Germany uses them. Several US counties and precincts use them. Is it any wonder why?

U.S. security contractors were heckled, humiliated and physically abused by marines in Iraq while jailed for 72 hours with insurgents, one of the contractors said Friday.

"It was disbelief the whole time. I couldn't believe what was happening," said Matt Raiche, 34, an ex-marine who was one of 16 U.S. and three Iraqi contractors detained at Camp Fallujah last month. "I just found it crazy that we were being held with terrorists, that we were put in the same facility with them," said in an interview at his lawyer's office.

A group of American security guards in Iraq have alleged they were beaten, stripped and threatened with a snarling dog by US marines when they were detained after an alleged shooting incident outside Falluja last month.

"I never in my career have treated anybody so inhumane," one of the contractors, Rick Blanchard, a former Florida state trooper, wrote in an email quoted in the Los Angeles Times. "They treated us like insurgents, roughed us up, took photos, hazed [bullied] us, called us names."

A Marine Corps spokesman denied that abuse had taken place and said an investigation was continuing.

Please permit this nearly frozen blogger to point out that the statement from the "Marine Corps spokesman" [quoted in The Guardian as mentioned above] makes no sense. If an investigation is continuing, then he's in no position to claim that no abuse took place. Converserly, if no abuse took place, then why is there an investigation?

To clarify my remark about paper ballots vs the exit polls MOE; The margin-of-error for the Mitofsky National Exit polls is somewhere around 1% (I'll have to look it up again) and paper ballot precincts in the 2004 election were the ONLY precincts to fall within (under!) the MOE in EVERY instance.

Paper ballots are the most reliable method to vote and have those votes counted. The exit polls have proven that.

There should be a moratorium on the purchase and use of all electronic voting/counting equipment.

It's been proven that electronic voting and counting equipment is hackable, including DREs (touch-screens), optical scanners and central tabulators. Including only ONE of any of these machines (e.g. for disabled voters) compromises the whole election system.

We as families of soldiers who have died as a result of war (primarily, but not limited to the invasion/occupation of Iraq) are organizing to be a positive force in our world to bring our country’s sons and daughters home from Iraq, to minimize the “human cost” of this war, and to prevent other families from the pain we are feeling as the result of our losses. We are also hoping to be lifetime support for each other through our losses.

And please click here for an excellent column by Cindy Sheehan on BuzzFlash. Here's an excerpt:

Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld continues to astound us Gold Star Families with his heartlessness, callousness and disrespect in the faces of our children who are being killed in the mindless invasion and occupation of Iraq.

I am one of the founding members of a group called Gold Star Families for Peace. Some of us families who have lost loved ones in this illegal and immoral war in Iraq have organized to use our collective voices to bring the tragedy of war to the fore front of America's hearts and souls like it so tragically is in ours. We families are amazed that so few of our fellow citizens are touched by the horrors of the invasion and occupation of a sovereign country. It seems to us like the only people who are asked to sacrifice anything for the war effort are our brave young men and women fighting this so-called war and their families. There are some families in our nation like us, that have paid the ultimate price for the lies and betrayals of this current administration.

Yes Every party puts some of their party faithful in admin positions. Bushco has no standards for quality-only loyalty.
Tom Delay has told many government agencies and think tanks: Get all the Democrats out.

In the second half of our final hour, The Brad Show welcomes blogger Chris Bowers, of MyDD dot Com. Chris has been tracking the growth of the blogosphere, and I hope you will read some of the pieces he has written. Here are a few links to get you started.

Last September, I wrote an article entitled Top Down Right-Wing Blogosphere Growing Powerful, that argued the anti-community nature of right-wing blogs was allowing them relatively greater message discipline than left wing blogs and a superior ability to influence the content of the national media. In January, I wrote a follow-up piece entitled Partisan Democratic Blogs Growing Far More Influential Than "Independent" Right-Wing Blogs, where I argued that progressive blogs, due to their affiliation with the Democratic Party, were growing influential in ways that the largely media focused right-wing blogosphere was not. In my latest irregular installment that compares the national liberal blogosphere to the national conservative blogosphere, I would like to discuss a new phenomenon I see emerging. The left-wing blogosphere is beginning to decidedly pull away from the right wing blogosphere in terms of traffic. This is largely a result of the open embrace of community blogging on the left and the stagnant, anti-meritorious nature of the right-wing blogosphere that pushes new, emerging voices to the margins.

Well, to be fair there are parts that are stunningly beautiful, and other places that are not. Just like every other country in the world I guess.

(But the Irish Tourist Board makes it mandatory that we all use that phrase when talking to potential cashco... errr... I mean, potential valued visitors to Leprechaunland(TM). - They will have me shot for letting others in on the secret!)

The conservative blogosphere is languishing and the liberal blogosphere is growing because liberals are searching for the truth [interesting] whereas the conservative bloggers are simply echoing the same lies over and over and over [boring].

Yes, Peg! It's happening. And we need to work even harder now to keep it happening, because the enemies of our country will certainly double and redouble their efforts to keep the truth from the people.

I mean this is great. Blogging while listening to Brad(blog).
Blogs are the a big, big part of real news.
I mean a newspaper comes out once a day. On the net the news can be discussed, torn apart or verified all day.
If you don't trust a sight, go to 100 others.
I think the MSM is like People Magazine.
Which I cannot put down once I start.

"Although the legality of the war has been more of an issue in Britain than in America, the revelations indicate Bush may also have acted illegally, since Congress did not authorise military action until October 11 2002.

The air war had already begun six weeks earlier and the spikes of activity had been underway for five months. "

Somebody give me one good reason why these people shouldn't go to jail.

*****
On a lighter note...

Okay, this is too weird NOT to post.

Winter Patriot re: #66 - Americablog is reporting that Mary Carey said she wanted to meet the Bush daughters, that she "totally wants to have sex with them"

She also said she's a Christian and believes in the Ten Commandments (maybe she and Jeff Gannon go to the same church?) To be fair, there's nothing in there that says "Thou shalt not be horny for the President's daughters"

Exactly! The criminal liar! WE didn't need Downing Street to inform us of this, but the corporate media sure plays it close to the vest. Cheating people out of true information is a CRIME. It should be prosecutable. "When will they ever learn?"
==========
I've asked Brad to play Gordon Bok's "Tune for November" next week. Maybe we'll be "turning toward the morning" by then.

{Spam reposted again and again. Removed. Knock it off, Jimmo. Give whatever damn opinions you want, but do note repost the same shit over and over again. You're really trying my exceedingly generous patience. Knock it the fuck off, or every one of your posts will be removed. Got it? - BF}

To avoid being caught making up a story; refrain from making it overly detailed. Real stories never have the level of detail made up stories do.

Also; when making up a story refrain from the impulse to do not add some personal activity to it at the end such as you did. It is in immediate signal that the writers is fabricating his story.

Finally, when attempting to show some form of unity with your beliefs it helps to have no more than 4 parties expressing unamimous consent that YOU are right but you do need that token person that had yet to be convinced of the issue. More than 4 from a single location stretches the imagination because of the extremely wide divergent opinions on issues.

I'm gonna have to overrule Jimmo's earlier post and bump your grade up to a B+.

For Originality - 10
For Performance - 10
For Lyp Syncing -8

It has been dicovered that one of the judges (going by the name of attorney jimmo) has been disqualified for enjoying his anal probe on board the SS Alien cruiser. Anal probes won't necessarily disqualify you from being a judge, but enjoying them will.

Brad, I for one am glad you've allowed the trolls to stay (and y'all bear with me for a minute and I'll explain, don't start throwing rocks at me for saying that, okay?)

Seriously, if I visit a discussion board or blog that stops getting hit by trolls, it mean we're not making an impact with our statements. An increase in activity means we're making them nervous. If they considered us insignificant, they'd ignore us.

Make sense?

Brad, keep doin what you do..and to the rest of the 6 or 7, and those who have joined us, keep making noise!

Newt Gingrich is calling for the censure of Senator Durbin. Here is my email to Newt:

You sir, and the Bush administration are the ones that have dishonored America and its citizens, not Senator Durbin. With the release of the Downing Street Minutes it is now clear the the Bush administration deceived the American people and Congress. Your censure should be directed at those in the administration, including our commander in chief, who have actually caused the murder of our own brave soldiers, and tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens, who continue to hold detainees indefinitely, who sanctioned the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and other prisons, have fueled an international hornet's nest of hatred at our country and have destroyed America's good reputation even amongst its own citizens. Stop playing your pathetic politics and exposing your enormous hypocrisy. The truth will set us all free. You should try it.

I went to go hit a bucket of golf balls today. (Beautiful day, 85 and sunny). The place I go to is inhabited by crusty old men who scratch a lot and talk shit all day long. This is their retirement. I know this place to be pretty conservative so I just go to hit a bucket and not chew the fat.

Today I'm walking in to get my bucket and I hear one dude telling another in his heavy southern drawl "did you see the thing on C-SPAN with this COnyers feller?" That's all I needed. I spent the next 45 minutes telling them about the petition, the work that's been going on for weeks, and so on. They had a lot of questions and I was able to fill in some gaps in their information. There were other people listening and chiming in. Out of the 6 or 7 people there NOT ONE defended Bushit. Not one. Even guys who by looking at them you know are Republicans were piling on. They didn't know how much Halliburton has stolen, as an example of information that they still don't have. When I started to walk away and start hitting golf balls...

...Here it comes.....

The guy I originally started talking to says "I think there's gonna be an impeachment".!!! EVERYONE ELSE WAS NODDING THEIR HEADS IN AGREEMENT.

I was floored...and then I was giddy...then I nailed 80 out of 90 golf swings.

Peg C. - Thanks for the great links per usual! MMIIXX - I think Jimmo should be named HerpesII at best - there are all these unpleasant issues that keep erupting all over the corpulent, gassifying corpocon establishment, and I'm convinced they aren't going away - unless: the bad guys manage to affix a dirty explosaive to an LNG tanker in Boston Harbor, blowing away a few pesky blue states and letting the fallout enshroud those pesky, effete Europeans, who have decided "they just plain don't like war." We must all be on our toes - spread the word! I'm afraid they're dead set on doing it, or something similar, and the least we can do is not let ourselves get suckered into rallying around the flag again...

I haven't had a chance to welcome you to the blog here. Thanks for sharing your views and for letting us know just how small (or non-existant) our voices are in the world community. How very sad and frightening that is to me --- please take the news of the Left-Wing Blogosphere back to Europe. Please help advertise us!

We do exist even though the extreme-rightwingnuts presently control our government are working hard to silence us.

Never would I have imagined that I would grow up to face this kind of regime in power.

How are you feeling now? (I did read some other posts) And you've already welcomed me here before - I'm the person from the same birthplace as George Galloway. I have already been promoting this blog to anyone interested. I never thought I'd live to see this kind of regime in America either. But then nothing lasts forever!

Ah yes, Donna! I do remember you from the George Galloway days (seems so far back in time, by now.) Thank you so much for hanging in here with us.

To answer your kind query about my healing process --- I'm doing a little better today, though the occasional muscle spasms are very uncomfortable. But, it's ok --- and believe me, nothing like the sickening pain I feel about the state of this, my country.

I've been aware of the ones in power (the elites) since my childhood. All you need do is read the history of how the original settlers to this country dealt with the indigenous peoples and through laws they created, eventually committed a near genocide of them. It continues even today through subtle means --- such as the cruel minimum wage the rightwingnuts enforce and the TAXES the poor continue to pay (against the assertions of our unpopular and erroneous visitor, BS.)

I just watched a documentary the other night that provides an inside view into the workings of the government relating to our Native Americans, titled "The Spirit of Annie Mae."

This government (the Nixon years) was involved in the secret sterilization of Native American Women. This government was involved in giving arms, money and immunity to Indians who would infiltrate AIM (American Indian Movement) for the purpose of collecting information, disruption and silencing (permanently if desired) those who were the most powerful in this movement. Annie Mae was one of those.

This government was also involved in The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment in which they used indigent Negroes for their experiments which included withholding the successful antibiotic treatment which was widely available.

And if anyone out there thinks this government is too righteous to knowingly cause the deaths of millions of Americans, they should do some research into its history. Then continue the research into 9/11.

The Christmas Tsunami, which killed 1/2 million, innocent people, may have been caused by the Christmas launch of a live war-head during a Star-Wars missile test from Vandenburg AFB at Lompoc, CA. The anti-missile interception test was unsuccessful, last Christmas.

The Biggest Tsunami ever recorded was radio-active, killed billions of fish and traveled at the speed of a nuclear blast. But, was the Tsunami intentional or caused by the Devil, God, or rusty "triggering" devices in aging, Titan missiles? And, did the H-Bomb explode by extreme ocean pressure at a depth never before tested or delayed triggering?

And, will warmongers blame North Korea if another happens near Crescent City, CA., since pre-conditioning tremors have already occurred?

The Bushites have already been caught in several "Big Lies", including the intentional, prewired destruction of Building 7 (or CIA headquarters) at the World Trade Center; plus, the Downing Street Memos; plus, "The Project for a New American Century" or the "P.N.A.C. Agenda". Therefore, the following is a sonnet composed by me on "Poetry.com".

The Beasts of War
to all Bushites (rev. g)
How soon we forget the horrors of war
As heroes die of post-war maladies,
Or patriots fly with our Army Corps
In Black Hawks or Harriers from Hades!
Our unrighteous wars leave trillions in debts,
While millions of lives were tortured by fire,
And rich warmongers made billions on vets,
Which helped them increase political ire!
Soon, they intend to prey on more nations,
To twist more minds and to slay more vassals,
Spread more Anti-Christ abominations,
And start Tsunamis from NORAD castles!
So, cast your vote to abort this error,
These bastards conspire to exploit terror!

The Christmas Tsunami, which killed 1/2 million, innocent people, may have been caused by the Christmas launch of a live war-head during a Star-Wars missile test from Vandenburg AFB at Lompoc, CA. The anti-missile interception test was unsuccessful, last Christmas.

The Biggest Tsunami ever recorded was radio-active, killed billions of fish and traveled at the speed of a nuclear blast. But, was the Tsunami intentional or caused by the Devil, God, or rusty "triggering" devices in aging, Titan missiles? And, did the H-Bomb explode by extreme ocean pressure at a depth never before tested or delayed triggering?

And, will warmongers blame North Korea if another happens near Crescent City, CA., since pre-conditioning tremors have already occurred?

The Bushites have already been caught in several "Big Lies", including the intentional, prewired destruction of Building 7 (or CIA headquarters) at the World Trade Center; plus, the Downing Street Memos; plus, "The Project for a New American Century" or the "P.N.A.C. Agenda". Therefore, the following is a sonnet composed by me on "Poetry.com".

The Beasts of War
to all Bushites (rev. g)
How soon we forget the horrors of war
As heroes die of post-war maladies,
Or patriots fly with our Army Corps
In Black Hawks or Harriers from Hades!
Our unrighteous wars leave trillions in debts,
While millions of lives were tortured by fire,
And rich warmongers made billions on vets,
Which helped them increase political ire!
Soon, they intend to prey on more nations,
To twist more minds and to slay more vassals,
Spread more Anti-Christ abominations,
And start Tsunamis from NORAD castles!
So, cast your vote to abort this error,
These bastards conspire to exploit terror!

Donna, please don't make sounds like Buckshot. I don't mean that in a nasty way. To ask a question like "You've heard of i-pods, haven't you?" implies that anyone who hasn't heard of i-pods is an idiot. I'm not one, even though I haven't any clue what an i-pod is.

If I asked you, "Haven't you heard about rural gentrification?" the question would put you on the defensive, wouldn't it? How about "extraordinary rendition?" Many intelligent people have gaps in their knowledge; most of mine are in high-tech.

If someone asks in good faith, "What is ______?" I think the polite thing to do is simply answer the question. Thanks for your consideration.

Oh dear Robert, I apologise most humbly. I hope you would realise from what I've written elsewhere that I don't ever try to insult or patronise anyone, it's very rare for me even to do it unintentionally and for me to do it to you of all people makes me extremely annoyed with myself. I really meant no such implication - and I need hardly add that I've sense enough to regard you (as no doubt everyone else does on this board) as one of the most intelligent people here.

The truth is that despite being surrounded by tech loving people myself I am a bit of a technophobe too and I'd only discovered what ipods were about six months ago myself. I realised once I'd quickly written and clicked on the first post that it didn't sound as good as it could have (though I never realised til now just how bad it must have sounded) but I did know it was a bit abrupt which is why I included the second making light of it. If I'd fully read it again and realised the effect I'd have apologised then.

Here's a more complete, up-to-date, compilation of my pre-election state and national models, which forecast the Kerry 2-party vote (51.6-51.8%). Also included are over 100 pre-election and exit poll analytic threads. If you read the replies, you'll see how the arguments of responding naysayers and trolls were debunked virtually every time.

I should have responded to "No Exit" a year ago. But since you have continued your crusade against "fraudsters" with your thrashing of RFK's Rolling Stone article, now it's my turn. The pathetic rebuttal to RFK came exactly one year after "No Exit". in which you claim that "expert" sources debunked USCV and the "fraudsters". Quite the contrary; they're down to their last-ditch hypothesis ("false recall"). They are still trying to spread the fiction that the pre-election and early exit polls were wrong; that Bush won the popular vote by a 3 million "mandate". In so doing, they imply that the FINAL National Exit and state exit polls, which were matched to the "recorded" vote, are correct. Based on the mathematical proof below, you will see why the FINAL NEP is IMPOSSIBLE and OVERSTATES the Bush vote by AT LEAST 4 MILLION.

THE MARGIN OF ERROR
You make the fallacious statement that there is no real significance to the 3% deviation from Kerry winning by 51-48% in the National Exit poll to the Bush recorded 51-48% win. That statement alone exposed your lack of understanding of the "margin of error" and mathematical probability. The 1.1% MoE (assuming a 30% cluster effect; 13,047 respondents) means that the 3% deviation is extremely significant. It's almost 6 standard deviations from the sample mean.

Let's calculate the probability of the deviation:
Prob = 1-NORMDIST(0.51,0.48,0.011/1.96,TRUE) =2.05809E-09
or 1 in 485,887,838

THE REAL EXPERTS
It's apparent to many that your analysis is full of holes. You say that an "amateur mathematician" proved Ron Baiman, Kathy Dopp, Steve Freeman, myself and other analysts wrong. Really? On DU, we have won every online debate with that tag-team naysayer duo from Bard College and Britain. Baiman and Freeman, both PHDs, have had extensive, real world analytical experience. Dopp has a masters degree in mathematics. Their expertise is reflected in the quality of their published work on the Stolen Election. I'm NOT an amateur mathematician. I have two MS degrees in applied mathematics and have been developing financial, investment and engineering models long before you were born. What are YOUR academic credentials? What makes you an expert in polling analysis?

2.5 MILLION SPOILED DEMOCRATIC VOTES
It's a FACT that over 3 million votes (the great majority Democratic) are spoiled and never counted in every election? In 2004, 3.6mm votes were lost - just check the Census. I'm sure you would agree that Bush stole the 2000 election, despite having lost by 540,000 votes, 51-50.5mm. Add 75% of the 3 million spoiled votes to Gore and it's clear that he actually won by 2 million.

13 MILLION NEW BUSH VOTERS?
In 2004, the Bush recorded win was 62-59 million. Where did he gain over 13 million new votes (1.75mm Bush 2000 voters died before 2004) to go from 49mm to 62mm? Kerry won between 54% to 61% of those who did not vote in 2000 (depending on the exit poll timeline) and over 70% of 3 million Nader voters.

CONFIRMATION: rBr IS DEAD.
Manjoo, I've got news for you; rBr is dead. You call the Reluctant Bush Responder theory persuasive, but it was debunked before you even wrote "No Exit". The Exit Poll Response Optimizer (July 2005) confirmed the USCV simulation model. They both refuted rBr.

THE EXIT POLLS WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO SEE
Many voters went to sleep on election night assuming Kerry won. Jonathan Simon stayed up long enough to spot and download the 12:22am state exit polls. Luckily for us, The Washington Post chose not to delete the corresponding National Exit Poll (13047 respondents at 12:22am) which showed Kerry the 51-48% winner. We also have the earlier NEP timelines at 4pm (8349 respondents) and 7:30pm (11027 respondents) which established the 51-48% Kerry trend. He held the lead until the Final National Exit Poll (13660 respondents), when the numbers magically reverted to a 51-48% Bush win. The numbers (weights and vote shares) were revised to match the vote.

THE IMPOSSIBLE FINAL EXIT POLL
According to the Final National Exit poll, 43% of the 122.3 million who voted in 2004 were Bush 2000 voters and 37% were Gore voters. These weightings in and of themselves debunk rBr. Now 43% of 122.3 is 52.57 million. And since Bush only got 50.5mm votes in 2000, and about 1.75mm died, only 48.7mm (39.8%) could have returned to vote in 2004, so the 43% Final NEP weighting was mathematically impossible. The Bush vote was inflated by 4 million. I have just shown that the Final Poll at 1:25pm on Nov.3 is bogus and that the earlier 12:22am numbers are close to the truth.

Here's the National Exit Poll Timeline. Notice the smooth trend in the first three timelines (4pm,7:38pm,12:22am). Compare it to the discontinuous Bush jump in ALL the demographic weights and/or vote shares in the Final NEP.http://www.progressivein...um=120&topic_id=3037

REINCARNATED BUSH VOTERS?
We have proved that the Final NEP weights were mathematically impossible - unless you believe that 4 million Bush voters were reincarnated. Simple logic tells us that if the Final Exit poll was matched to the Bush recorded vote and was overstated by at least 4 million, then the Bush recorded vote must also have been overstated by at least 4 million.

If you read my related posts, you would already know all this. But since you never mentioned them in your article, one can assume that a) you never read the posts, or b) you read them but chose not to discuss them. If it's (a), why didn't you? If it's (b), why didn't you? An impartial journalist seeking the truth would have.

Which do you believe: the Final NEP or rBr? You can't have both.
They are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.

THE CLINCHER
You MUST read the "CLINCHER" thread. Kerry wins all plausible scenarios of 2000 voter turnout in 2004, assuming 100% Bush voter turnout and declining Gore voter turnout (from 100% to 70%) over a range of NEP Kerry vote shares (51-60%) of those who did not vote in 2000.

THE GAME
As far as the myth of "false voter recall" is concerned, I suggest you read the "GAME" thread. The Bard College professor's implausible explanation to explain the 3 million Bush "victory" margin (that almost one of 6 Gore voters defected to Bush in 2004 while just one of 16 Bush voters defected to Kerry) requires a leap of faith beyond the pale; the odds against it are astronomical. It's the naysayer's last stand. Their case against the "pristine" exit polls is in its "final throes", having been reduced to a totally implausible hypothesis. Farhad, ask yourself who you voted for in 2004 and 2000. Or did you forget?

THE VILLAINS
Oh, sure, you will probably say: they matched the final exit poll to the vote. They do it all the time. Yes, Farhad, they do, even when the vote is corrupted. How come you never entertained the possibility that the votes were scammed? Or do you trust Bush/Rove to do the right thing and not try to steal the election? Remember Katherine Harris/ Jeb Bush in Florida 2000? Remember Ken Blackwell in Ohio 2004? Remember WMDs, mushroom clouds, Bush reading "My Pet Goat" on 911, domestic spying, torture, stem cells, Diebold, black disenfranchisement, spoiled votes, hacked voting machines, Hava bribes, Plame, the Aug.6, 2001 PDB, clearing Crawford brush...

THE RATIONALISTS
These are just a few of those who believe that the election was stolen: RFK Jr., John Conyers, Mark Miller, Robert Koehler, Michael Keefer, Thom Hartmann, Jim Lampley, Greg Palast, Bob Herbert, Steve Freeman, Kathy Dopp, Wayne Madsen, Ron Baiman, pollsters Harris and Zogby. Over 50% of the public believe that the election was stolen - and the percentage is growing daily. In fact, all the cable networks ran polls (except for Fox) which showed that a majority of viewers believe Bush stole it: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0605/S00200.htm

THE WIMPS
Of course, we still have spineless Democratic politicians who dare not call it "fraud". And that includes wannabee Al Franken. Well, at least Mike Malloy and Randi Rhodes are not afraid to talk about the stolen election. Unlike Al, they have no plans to run for office.

MATHEMATICS
Just curious. What is your math background? Specifically, statistical voting trends, polling mathematics, probability theory, Monte Carlo simulation? If you can't follow the math or logic in my posts, don't feel bad - the Mystery Pollster didn't either. You will learn the basics if you download and run the Interactive Election and Monte Carlo polling simulation models. Do you have Excel? Here's an intro to polling simulation and statistics:http://www.geocities.com...AllPollingSimulation.mht

THE SMOKING GUN
Finally, I suggest you consider the following in your next piece:
Considering that Gore won in 2000 by over 540,000 votes and that
1) Kerry won a solid majority of new voters (57-41%) and that
2) he also won a large majority of Nader voters (71-21%) and
3) at most 49.2mm Gore and 48.7mm Bush voters turned out in 2004,
then the discussion should end right here because... assuming a 95% turnout of Gore and Bush voters, Bush needed 19.5% OF GORE VOTERS TO WIN BY 3 MILLION VOTES.

ARE WE EXPECTED TO BELIEVE THAT ALMOST ONE OUT OF FIVE GORE VOTERS DECIDED TO FORGIVE BUSH FOR STEALING ELECTION 2000? OK, FORGIVE. BUT VOTE FOR HIM?

AT THE 12:28AM NEP TIMELINE, BUSH WON 8% OF GORE VOTERS. IN THE FINAL, 10%.
________________________